News
Oxford group launches sectoral ESG data quality initiative
The Oxford Sustainable Finance Group (OxSFG) recently launched an independent assessment of data quality within sustainable finance, dubbed the Sectoral Data Quality and Integrity Project. OxSFG believe that providing clear sector-specific guidance on data quality and characteristics will help improve and align the datasets that underpin different reporting and analytical frameworks.
SSEE MSc students selected for Oxford SDG Impact Lab fellowship
Oxford Smith School MSc students Puninda Thind and Ryleen Balawanth have been selected for the inaugural Oxford SDG Impact Lab Fellowship, a collaboration between the University of Oxford and easyJet Holidays.
Off-grid energy in East Africa needs urgent policy intervention
The off-grid energy sector in East Africa is vital to the region's sustainable development and needs urgent government support to help it recover from the pandemic, according to a new policy brief from researchers at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment.
Bloomberg: Africa Needs Off-Grid Support to Avoid 30 Million Losing Access
Off-grid power development in Africa needs support to prevent at least 30 million people from losing electricity access after disruptions related to the global pandemic caused many distributors to struggle to remain operational, according to a new report.
Net zero pathway allows U.K. to stop Russian oil and gas imports by 2024 - analysis
An analysis from a team at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment finds that the U.K. could effectively eliminate the need for Russian gas imports in 2023 and oil imports by 2024 if it takes the net zero measures recommended by the Climate Change Committee's 6th carbon budget.
Bloomberg: Canada to Sell Green Bond as Push to Exit Oil Rises Amid War
Canada started taking orders for its inaugural green bond amid a renewed global push to reduce dependence on fossil fuels after the Russian invasion of Ukraine brought reliance on non-renewable sources of energy back into the spotlight.
As the world heats up, could 'carbon clubs' supercharge climate action?
Forbes' David Vetter explores a new working paper by Bethan Adams, Kaya Axelsson and Adam Parr on the concept of an international "Carbon Club." A Carbon Club is a group of countries who individually introduce a Border Carbon Adjustment (BCA) on carbon-intensive imported goods, working independently but in parallel. Adam Parr told Vetter that "Pricing signals are a fundamental principle of how markets operate, and taxing bad stuff is a fundamental tax principle of how governments operate."
How can the UK afford net zero?
Oxford Smith School working paper proposing that countries adopt a ‘Border Carbon Adjustment’ on carbon heavy materials like steel, concrete and fertilisers, and goods like cars and mobile phones
Graduate students flock to Smith School MSc
The 2022 iteration of the MSc in Sustainability, Enterprise and the Environment was the University of Oxford's most applied to graduate programme in November 2021, and the 4th most applied to in January 2022, according to latest admissions figures.The programme, which is still in its inaugural year after launching in September 2021, has received
Fossil fuel industry can't rely on carbon capture and bioenergy to save its assets
Fossil fuel power sources producing the equivalent of ten times the global electricity production in 2018 will become unusable if global heating is to be kept below degrees, even if carbon-abatement technologies such as carbon capture and storage, bioenergy, and coal-to-gas conversions are deployed at scale, new research published in Nature Comm
Employees who fear technology-induced unemployment more likely to retrain
Workers who feel their job is at greater risk due to technological advancements are more willing to seek retraining opportunities, according to researchers from the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford and University of Zurich.
Taxing meat can protect the environment
Taxing meat could be an important lever for aligning Western diets with environmental goals and can be designed such that low-income households and farmers are compensated, find a forthcoming paper in the Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, co-authored by SSEE Director Cameron Hepburn.